Starbucks CEO attempts arrest on ‘Santas,’ PETA publicity stunt goes awry
Dec 24, 2021, 1:52 PM | Updated: Dec 25, 2021, 7:41 am
PETA supporters brought lumps of coal to the Starbucks CEO's house to protest the company for charging extra for non-dairy options. (Photo courtesy Brooke Rossi/PETA)
(Photo courtesy Brooke Rossi/PETA)
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson made Santa’s naughty list Thursday when a bag of coal, failing to reach his stocking, unloaded on his driveway.
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) supporters, decked out in Santa’s dress reds, performed the stunt to draw attention to Starbucks’ practice of charging extra for non-dairy options. The delivery accompanied a letter which charged the coffee company with mistreatment of cows used in dairy production, as well as with the responsibility to decrease their carbon footprint by moving away from dairy production at large.
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The PETA supporters also note that lactose intolerance disproportionately affects Asian, Native, and African Americans. They claim price leveling for non-dairy options therefore would represent a form of racial equity.
“PETA is calling on Starbucks to make good on its promises regarding the planet and racial justice by ending this ridiculous tax on kindness,” said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman in a written statement.
The Medina Police Department was promptly summoned after Johnson threatened to charge the PETA demonstrators with trespassing.
